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Monday, December 30, 2013

Any Mumbaikar would know the significance of the blue tarp in the life of Mumbai. Poverty and a heavy monsoon ensures that middle class people use this blue tarp to cover their homes and balconies, their vehicles and well, just about everything. This series of little drawings were seen at the SKIN art festival in Mumbai in December 2013 at the Godrej Company.

As this artist Sameer Kulavoor explains it: It is an illustrated documentation of the use of Taad Patri. The second skin of Mumbai

Cycles, scooters and other vehicles as well as small shops all use the blue tarp.

A row of hutments covered with blue tarp.

Even buildings are not immune to the blue tarp. They are used to protect water from seeping into the house from the balconies during the heavy rains.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Naida caves in Diu are artificial caves. They are a network of hollows and tunnels on a rocky mountainside. Large slabs appear to have been hewn out of the porous rocks. Material from here was hewn out during the rule by the Portuguese and it is believed that they used it for building material. Due to the unique cave like structure of the caves they have become a tourist attraction.
There are so many caves that one can get easily lost in them and it is fun exploring them.

This is the entrance to the caves and apparently it is formed naturally.

A peek inside of the caves. There are openings at the top in most of the caves.

It is quite an interesting experience to see these caves. They are huge and very picturesque. There is no fee to see these caves.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Somnath Temple on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the god Shiva. Somnath temple was destroyed many times by Islamic kings and rulers and regularly re-built. The last time was in 1947.

The unique thing about this temple is that there is no land between it and Antarctica, The fact that the ancient Indians had this knowledge is amazing. In fact much of the ancient scienctific knowledge of ancient India was lost when the Mughals burnt down a precious library at Nalanda. The barbarians were evil akin to the terrorists of today.

This is the way to enter the Somnath temple.

A closer look at the temple. Shoes have to removed beyond the fence. Unfortunately no cameras are allowed inside.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Siddi or the Siddhi are people of African origin, primarily from South East Africa who migrated to the Indian subcontinent almost 2000 years ago. They are thought to descend from the Bantu people. They did not arrive in the Indian subcontinent of their own free will, but were brought as slaves by Arab and Portuguese merchants. This ethnic group can be found in Karnataka and Gujarat and some are also believed to be in Karachi, Pakistan. They are Sufi Muslims although some groups have converted to either Christianity or Hinduism.

From the maternal side, the Siddi peoples have mixed blood, mainly Indian. This intermingling of blood is believed to have happened in the last 200-300 years.

These are pictures of the Siddhi tribe from Gujarat, India. They are performing a tribal dance.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

These are photographs of para sailing. Para sailing can happen on water (sea) or on land too, like the beach. The sail is tied either to a boat or some type of vehicle on land. The person goes up due to the wind/breeze. The vehicle or boat keeps moving giving the person a ride. While coming down the rope is gently pulled in.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Dragonflies have large rolling eyes, transparent wings and a long body. Their wing movement is incredibly fast, and are one of the fastest flying insects found. They are a predator insects good to have around because they eat pests like mosquitoes and ants. If you find that you are being innundated with ants and mosquitoes like all of us urban people, then blame the absence of the beautiful dragonflies. They are the most amazing creatures, because their design enables them to fly in all directions including in reverse!

Unfortunately they cannot survive in an urban environment as they are aquatic and need fresh water bodies around.

Those large pink blobs are its eyes. These huge eyes help them see in all directions. Although changing colour is not part of its camouflage technique, the dragonflies I found were hardly visible in the backdrop of the leaves and brush and the trees on which they were seen. Look at this golden one hardly visible to be naked eye in the bright sunlight. Its eyes appeared to be spots on the leaves, and its body a glint from the sun. These dragonflies have bodies which are barely 2-3 inches and are not easily seen if they are still.

I mistook this red dragonfyl for a pretty flower until I zoomed in with my telephoto lens.

This dragonfly has a yellow and black striped body and it merges with the dried grass and leaves in the background. Whether or not dragonflies change colour, they certainly know which area to hang around in! The large pink round orbs are the eyes and this dragonfly has a smile on its face!

A clearer picture of this beautiful yellow and black dragonfly. It's body reminds one of the stalk of a sugarcane plant! The straw and grass in the background merges perfectly well with the tiny body of this dragonfly making it very difficult to see in the brush.

The back of a dragonfly with turquoise blue netted wings. The wings of dragonflies are amazing, delicated netted things which move faster than the eye can see.